Transformation or Death

Chapter 26

The Meaning of Protection (4)

The recent series of disappearance cases. The fact that a villain is behind them has become certain.

– So what is the magic girl doing (don’t really know)

└ I don’t care if you live or die, just give up the money ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Wow, that’s really too much, you guys are just greedy for money, why are you complaining ㅜㅜㅜㅜ 

└ Ah, the way of speaking

No matter where they went, the reactions were the same. Places that were already skeptical of the magic girls remained so, and even places that were somewhat favorable found it difficult to get a proper reaction.

– What, are you mad that the magic girl couldn’t catch and devour the villain?

└ We entrusted the taxes to them, uncle.

└ They should have put up a shield, that’s why they  keeps getting cursed.

– Magic girl fans, please come to your senses. Are you going to regret it when you get caught by the villain while always consuming emotions like that?

└ 2222 Magic girl fans are so over-the-top, they should just do their own work well, whether they get caught or not.

└ Does this look like a healthy criticism to you? You’re turning the kids into trash;;; 

└ Here they come again, a person is missing but they still can’t pull themselves together?

└ I don’t even understand why the fans exist in the first place, it’s like they’re dressing up grown-ups in lolita-esque dresses to induce pedophilia, it’s so creepy… Ugh ugh ugh

Wherever they went, there were only accusations against the magic girls who failed to properly find the missing persons and even the villain who caused the incidents.

Red Vega didn’t really deny it either. These reactions were understandable.

There are victims, and their loved ones are shedding tears. There are many people walking the streets, afraid of being suddenly kidnapped. They are powerless. They can only be tossed around by the villain.

The only thing they can believe in is the magic girl, but that magic girl is disappointing.

It was a natural reaction. No, it was even lenient. Having experienced the uproar caused by the villain several times, both the magic girls and the citizens were becoming somewhat accustomed to it.

And at the same time, this emerged.

– Aren’t we really supposed to abolish these magic girls?

The incompetence of the magical girls.

Of course, it’s nonsense. The moment this is abolished, the citizens will lose the heroes who protect them. It’s just a lament they spit out because they don’t trust those heroes. It will pass quickly.

She shook her head as she recalled the various reactions she had seen the previous night.

But that’s not important right now. It’s a matter of human life. This is not the time to be filling her head with someone’s criticism.

She stepped in with a tense attitude. The area was a ruin, collapsed by a sudden explosion. On the fragments of the buildings, whose shadows were beginning to spread as the sun was setting, the small girl’s shoes stepped up.

[The reaction of Libra has been detected here. The other magical girls will arrive soon… Huh?]

The mascot explained the location where she was standing once again. At that moment, a thin membrane like cellophane surrounded the ruin.

“Uh… Huh?”

She tried to pull her foot out in puzzlement, but it was too late. The dome-shaped membrane surrounding the ruin had no visible gaps.

Red Vega immediately ignited her fist.

She took a few steps back, then sprinted back the same distance. It was a help-closing move. That help-closing gave her stronger power and wings that could reach higher.

Soon, flames began to erupt from under her feet as well. It became a propellant that launched Red Vega high into the air. Soaring like a fighter jet, Red Vega struck the membrane with the flames in her fist.

Ding-!

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A clear, bell-like sound rang out. The flames were expelled outwards, but her fist could not break through. It was a sensation different from a wall, like the repulsion of the same magnetic poles.

Is this a barrier that rejects only the magic girls? Red Vega clicked her tongue and retreated.

At the same time, she relayed this fact through the mascot and reached out her fist again. Boom! A dull sound shook the setting sky.

“It’s useless.”

A voice came from below. She turned her gaze. There was a figure with a huge body, carrying a scale on her shoulder.

It was Libra.

“Libra!”

“You’re doing well. I’m pleased. Keep fueling that hostility.”

Her scale tilted. Glittering gold-like substances rose up, and when they disappeared, the balance was restored.

“I have great expectations for you.”

And in a corner of the ruin, smoke began to rise. The black clouds resembling the exhaust of an old steam locomotive or a car blossomed abundantly. It was a bloom that would not last even a few seconds. In the short time it existed, shadows like seeds poured out from the black flowers.

The kidnapped people. People bound in chains were pouring out. Red Vega immediately moved towards that place.

“Red Vega, can you answer my question?”

Libra stood in front of her.

“… Get out of my way.”

Red Vega gritted her teeth and glared at her. Pleased with this sight, the golden giant spread her arms.

“Behold!”

[Backup request. S-grade villain Scutum has appeared.]

[Uh… No backup? S-grade villain Pegasus is here?!]

[No backup? S-grade villain Bootes is currently appearing!]

“…Huh?”

It was a desperate situation. Not just one, but several S-grade villains appearing at the same time. Each one was a walking calamity, a villain.

“There is no one to help you here!”

The simultaneous outbreak of S-grade villains.

However, there is a barrier in this place, making invasion difficult.

The other magical girls would rather make efforts to break through the barrier and go to other places to provide assistance than come to this place.

And of course, that’s how it should be.

As a magical girl, she should strive to save more people.

There is already a hero here.

That hero is none other than Red Vega herself.

“But there are more than enough to protect!”

Behind Libra, the faces of the people who had been kidnapped were visible. A crowd of weak, frightened victims.

Red Vega did not feel fear. She pushed herself forward. If she feared the villain, what feelings would those who were counting on her experience.

She turned her gaze to the weak.

They were afraid. But beyond that fear, there was a faint relief, adoration, and hope.

That was her.

– Come on, Red Vega, hang in there~!!!

– Hey you, shut up! Shh!

– Don’t give up, keep going!!!

– Please save us!!!

They were hoping for that. They wanted a hero to be here.

How can a hero fear the enemy?

You must not be afraid.

Be courageous.

Through the mascot, she heard that the other magical girls had just arrived at the several S-grade villains they had requested assistance for. She felt a little relieved by that. There was no request for them to come here. It didn’t bother her.

[Toward us… Please wait.]

She had already made up her mind. Heroes are meant to face adversity. This kind of lonely battle is nothing.

Moreover, it’s not a lonely battle.

Just a little, just a tiny bit, she just needs to hold out.

The magical girl who returns after protecting the citizens from the S-grade villains will be the reinforcement.

Until then, she just has to protect the citizens from this villain.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“You’re saying the obvious!”

Red Vega clenched her fist. The fist she had been clenching every single day since becoming a magical girl. She had gripped it so tightly that blood was flowing from her palm, and that blood kindled a fiery passion.

Flames flowed.

“I’ll take you down and save those people! That’s the only thing!”

The flames that scorched the ground endlessly produced dry ash. Acrid smoke and embers swirled in the wind, drying out her throat. Exhaling rough breaths, Red Vega proclaimed solemnly.

“Like a crimson comet in your heart…!”

Even though she had recalled the power of the S-grade villains she had seen, which was far beyond her reach, she took a step forward.

There is no fear.

“Red Vega will go!”

She shouted loudly enough for everyone behind her to hear.

Red Vega charged forward, like a butterfly with flames on its wings.

***  

Ippotranslation

***

It’s impossible.

With Red Vega’s current abilities, she cannot defeat Libra.

Of course, her potential is remarkable, so she may be able to achieve rapid growth.

But not yet.

Even if she is a magical girl who can undergo a manga-like transformation and growth in the midst of a crisis, that growth may not provide all the solutions.

It’s too early to fight against Libra.

Han Jae-jung clenched his teeth. He forcibly fixed his gaze on the screen, his body trembling with trauma.

-Currently, the magical girl Red Vega is confronting Libra in the Libra constellation, but considerable difficulty is expected. According to the information obtained by our production team, that barrier is merely an outer wall defending against the intrusion of the magical girl…

The reporter who had sent a preview earlier was watching the confrontation between the two with an intrigued expression. In one corner of the screen, people who wanted help were waving towards the camera.

It was puzzling. Why were there so many kidnapped people? They secured all those people in such a short time? Checking the calendar, it had only been about a day since he had collapsed.

That means it hadn’t even been a day since Libra confronted Red Vega.

But why were there so many kidnapped people? He was left with a sense of wonder.

Soon, Han Jae-jung reached one conclusion.

“I… haven’t been watching the news…”

It had already begun. Libra’s plan had been in operation since that day. He remembered Deneb’s words. Among the kidnapped people, he was the only one who had returned. The kidnappings had started long ago.

In the original work, Virgo interferes with Libra’s plan and it ultimately doesn’t succeed properly. Will that happen this time too? He couldn’t feel hopeful. It was difficult to expect that Virgo, who had already been defeated and thoroughly crushed by Libra, would come out again.

She was known to be capricious.

‘What should I do? The possibility of other magical girls helping is… gone. A barrier blocking magical girls through a transaction has been erected. And there have been reports of monsters in other places… how much did that madman burn through.’

He was anxious. The magical girl who should have led the fight as a numerical majority was now at a numerical disadvantage, and Red Vega, who was confronting Libra, was not even on the same level.

But she would surely fight to the end without giving up.

‘…she’ll die.’

Han Jae-jung had already determined that possibility. Just as Libra had sacrificed her star to create a pseudo-nova state, the magical girl could do a similar thing.

However, a magical girl with only one star can only raise the brightness of the starlight by sacrificing her life.

She will risk her own life to maximize the power of peace.

If she wins the battle, she will lose her strength, and if she loses, it will be certain death.

“I’m going crazy…”

At that moment, a voice came from his belt.

[A quest has appeared.]

It had been a long time since he had heard that. Han Jae-jung reached out to grab the belt with a slight smile.

[Go to the designated location and defeat the Libra villain.]

Surely the next one would be a warning about disobedience.

[Will you accept the quest?]

“…what?”

An unexpected voice greeted him.

“…accept?”

They were giving a choice here, suddenly?

No, it wasn’t so sudden.

In his current physical condition, it would be difficult to take on a quest. Since he couldn’t be forced to follow it, they must have granted the choice.

This inference came to him easily, but he was still perplexed.

Freedom is burdensome. Having to choose the option entirely with his own hands means the responsibility is also entirely his own.

[If you accept the quest and fail to complete it, you will die.]

The stakes were different. If he doesn’t follow it, it’s not death, but if he fails, it’s death.

Death.

How many times had that frightening word wrapped around his body since he woke up? He was at the point of nausea.

Just before losing consciousness, the memory of being struck by Libra’s finishing move and brushing against the threshold of death resurfaced.

The memory of being chased by villains and bleeding before gaining the power of transformation resurfaced.

He was afraid.

[If you don’t accept, there will be no consequences.]

The belt, as if considering his feelings, as if considering his body, this time told him that it was okay to give up.

That he didn’t have to do anything. That he could just rest.

He stood at the crossroads of choice.

[Will you accept the quest?]

His heart started pounding furiously.

It was like the sound of a drum heralding war.